Government "has learned nothing'' from the riots of the 1960s and 1970s, a former radical leader has charged.

Lawyer Mr. Philip Perinchief, who was imprisoned for contempt of court while a member of the Black Beret Cadre in 1970, said there were parallels between that group and today's National Youth Alliance.

And response by "the powers that be'' was "very similar,'' Mr. Perinchief said.

The authorities failed to understand that "the voices they thought they silenced in the '60s and '70s are now the parents of the youths, some of which are members of the National Youth Alliance,'' Mr. Perinchief told The Royal Gazette .

"Now they have two generations of voices of protest, and that's what makes it far more of a problem for them.'' Mr. Perinchief, a Progressive Labour Party candidate in Pembroke West Central in the October general election, was reacting to recent arrests as Police investigate publications called The Nationalist from a group calling itself the National Youth Alliance. One probe involves an alleged death threat against the Queen. No charges have been laid.

Laws "to stifle freedom of movement and freedom of speech'' were passed while the Black Berets were active, Mr. Perinchief said. The same laws, which prohibited seditious publications and unlawful assembly, were now being used "to harass members of the National Youth Alliance.

"This says in fact that the powers that be have learned nothing from their experiences of the '60s and '70s and have arrogantly and stupidly buried their heads in the sand, believing that they were successful in silencing the voices of protest and change in society,'' Mr. Perinchief said.

In fact, the Black Beret Cadre was still alive, he said.

The cadre once numbered "in the hundreds,'' Mr. Perinchief said. When the leadership decided to phase it out, members "began a process of infiltration within all of the institutions of change and both political parties with a view to in the future resurrecting itself in the body politic and fabric of society,'' he said.

Today, there were many prominent people in Government, the banks, and law firms who belonged to the cadre, he said. The cadre did not meet, but they knew who one another were, he said.

They were "poised to surface in more obvious ways.'' After 25 years, "the psychological, philosophical and political consciousness of the Bermudian population...is now more receptive to and accepting of the strident calls of the Black Beret movement,'' he said.

Like the Black Berets, the NYA was "speaking about fundamental changes in the traditional structure of society,'' he said. The very existence of the group was "a ringing indictment of the institutions of change'' in the Country.

The Black Berets were fighting colonialism and capitalism, and both existed today, he said.

"One might ask the question, `Has anything really changed?''' he said.

"When I was a young man of 19, I had heard the governing forces speak of Bermudianisation. I had heard talk of Independence. And 30 years later, I'm hearing the same thing.'' Due to frustration wrought by materialism and high expectations, violence if it erupted "would be more volatile and perhaps even more widespread in the form of pockets of riotous behaviour, indeed, even moving to a national level,'' Mr. Perinchief said.

However, the Black Beret movement was "more politically and philosophically grounded,'' and therefore "potentially more dangerous to the foundations and tenets of society.

"If indeed the level of frustration of the youth today was married with the understanding and focus of the movement of the '60s and '70s, then society at large and the governing parties would be in a serious situation,'' he said.

Institutions of change and progressive individuals should work with the NYA to channel their energies into positive change, he said.

On New Year's Eve of 1969, Mr. Perinchief and Dr. Ewart Brown (then still a student and now a PLP MP) "commandeered the steps of City Hall, to...ring in the decade of change,'' he said.

When Police tried to get them to move, they refused, citing the Bermuda Constitution Order 1968. About 200 youths had gathered, and eight people were injured in the disturbance.

On August 8, 1970, Black Beret Mr. John Hilton (Dionne) Bassett burned a Union Jack outside City Hall. He was later jailed for six months for committing an offensive act. The Cadre condemned the sentence, and Mr. Perinchief was sentenced to six months in prison for contempt of court. A burning Union Jack is a symbol of the NYA.

In 1979, Mr. Perinchief completed a book about the Black Beret movement called Bermuda -- Isles of Unrest. The book is still unpublished. Mr. Perinchief said he hoped to publish it within the year.

There were misconceptions about the cadre, he said. It was not racist, or sexist, and while it had run-ins with Police, he said it was not prone to violence.

MR. PHILIP PERINCHIEF -- A former member of the Black Beret Cadre.